Chicken breast tenders are presently one of the fastest growing products in the food services market. It is estimated that tender sales have increased by about 67% over the past four years. Such growth will likely continue.
A need presently exists for a continuous, in-line system for significantly increasing the percentage production of “A-grade” tender products. To qualify as an A-grade tender, the product must be substantially free of defects. A-grade tenders thus constitute the highest quality, most desirable product. Unfortunately, the maximum A-grade production provided by most tender removal devices heretofore used in the art has commonly been only about 30%.
An example of one type of tender removal device commonly used in the art is the FoodCraft in-line breast debone machine (ILBD). The FoodCraft ILBD machine comprises: an elongate front pair of horizontal keel guides or rails; an elongate rear pair of horizontal keel guides positioned behind and in line with the front guides; a front pair of spring loaded, freely rotatable, circular plows positioned on opposite lateral sides of the horizontal keel guides; and a trailing pair of spring loaded, freely rotatable, circular plows located on opposite sides of the keel guides downstream of the front plows.
As will be understood, by those skilled in the art, the FoodCraft ILBD device operates to assist in removing the breast tenders from each side of the front (breast) half portion of the poultry carcass. Prior to being delivered to the plows, the front half will typically have been separated from the back half (i.e., the saddle) of the carcass and the wings and the outer portions of the breasts will also have been removed. The tenders will preferably also have been underscored by a pair of knives located upstream of the plows.
The “fronts” will typically be carried through the ILBD device on a cone-type conveyor or similar apparatus such that the keel and the two tender portions of each front are facing upward and the shoulder and neck portions of the fronts are leading into the direction of the travel. The cone-type conveyor thus continuously carries the fronts beneath and into the ILBD such that the keel portions of the fronts are received between the keel guides. The keel guides are elongate rail-type structures which simply operate to capture the upper keel portions of the fronts and thereby orient and guide the fronts into and through the ILBD plows
The front plows of the ILBD device will typically be circular blades oriented to cut through each side of the wishbone, sever the membrane (i.e., the tender membrane) covering the outer surface of the tender, and cut the tender meat away from the keel. The trailing plows of the ILBD device typically are not sharpened and do not act to cut into the fronts. Rather, the trailing plows are oriented to follow in the path of the cutting plows such that the trailing plows operate to peel the tenders away from the fronts and provide sufficient separation to allow the tenders to be easily pulled from the fronts by hand or by conventional mechanical means.
In one modification of the ILBD system attempted heretofore, a downwardly extending pivoting blade has been positioned upstream of the ILBD plows. The modified system has provided some increase in A-grade yield. However, further significant increases in A-grade yield are needed.